Kanji

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1

1. Background Kanji and Gryga had been long-time neighbors and had a history of business dealings with each other. Gryga is a licensed real estate broker. Kanji’s wife Marianne worked with Gryga in his realty company. Quezon has been Gryga’s life partner since 2003. Gryga loaned Kanji money over a period of years, beginning in 1995. He also loaned money, on Kanji’s behalf, to Kanji’s relatives. On January 16, 2003, Kanji signed a deed of trust (first deed of trust or 2003 deed of trust) on residential rental property he owned (the Mendenhall property) to secure an $81,000 loan from Gryga. The promissory note for the $81,000 loan also was dated and signed on January 16, 2003. Kanji had borrowed the $81,000 in 1997, however. The first deed of trust was recorded on June 4, 2004. Kanji filed this action in May 2021. He filed the operative verified first amended complaint in November 2021. Kanji alleged that, when he was seeking to refinance the Mendenhall property in 2019, he discovered a second deed of trust encumbered the property. The second deed of trust—notarized on September 23, 2006 and recorded on September 29, 2006— secured a promissory…